Cable thieves who cause delays to commuters by stealing from railway tracks were targeted by a police operation earlier this month.

British Transport Police used a helicopter equipped with a heat vision camera to watch the lines in the region, including the routes from Reading to London Paddington and London Waterloo, as well as a special covert train.

Officers also patrolled the lines on foot with sniffer dogs in the hope of catching thieves in the act during the operation which ran from Tuesday, April 5, to Tuesday, April 7. The drive resulted in one arrest – a 28-year-old man from Essex who has been bailed until May 19.

Superintendent Paul Brogden, who led the operation, said: “This operation, and similar ones we’re performing nationally, sends a clear warning now to all would-be cable thieves – not only are you risking your life, you stand a high chance of getting caught in what is a highly police environment.”

Dyan Crowther, director of operational services for Network Rail, said: “Metal thieves targeting the railway are causing misery to thousands of passengers and freight users and costing the industry, and the wider economy, tens of millions a year and rising.”